More Than An Oridnary Life
by LinkNotZelda
Summary: Matthew knew this was a bad idea. Stupid, really. The kid got himself into this mess, he could get himself out. But the kid had just looked so defenseless; he'd found himself moving without his mind's permission. 'Leave the kid alone.' [Hiro encounters a stranger when Yama corners him after losing. The world is turned sideways.]


**So, this was originally meant to be a one-shot that I was never going to share; just something to write and get my brain moving so I could finish other things. But then it exploded on me. And now I wanna share it.**

 **-LinkNotZelda**

 **P.S. Unfortunately, I own none of these lovely characters, not even Matthew, because although this is technically not a crossover, he is also technically not an OC, because I borrowed him without asking.**

* * *

Matthew wasn't really sure what he was doing. In fact, he really shouldn't be doing it. Because this was stupid. This was stupid, and he was so going to get himself killed, but damn, life ended eventually. He might as well die protecting someone else. 'Leave the kid alone,' he hissed, pushing the boy further behind him.

Yama laughed at him, the three lackeys behind him joining in. 'You think you can stop the great Yama?' He looked Matthew up and down, clearly amused, and Matthew bared his teeth at the yakuza boss. He wasn't remotely threatening, but it made him feel better.

He knew he didn't cut an imposing figure. Dressed in torn up jeans and a jacket that had clearly seen better days, he was so covered in dirt and grime that you couldn't tell what his hair color was, with a ragged backpack slung over one shoulder that clearly held everything he owned. Even the fluffy-looking kid behind him was unimpressed. The only thing that was keeping Yama and his thugs a moderate distance away was the pipe he was holding in his right hand.

'That boy stole from me, and I will take it back,' Yama continued, demeanor turning dark and threatening. 'Stand aside and I may choose to forget this transgression… Evans.' Matthew flinched almost imperceptibly at the casual mention of his last name. That wasn't good, that was never good.

'It was your own fault for falling for his tricks,' Matthew countered, choosing to ignore the thrill of panic about the fact that Yama knew his name. 'They were so pathetic even an amateur could have seen through them.' The kid makes a little miffed sound in the back of his throat, but Matthew isn't really paying attention because the thugs are closing in. 'What does that say about you idiots?'

'Perhaps I could even consider helping you out of your situation,' Yama said, as if Matthew had never spoken.

Matthew instantly bristled, sliding into a wide stance that would help him shield the kid better. 'Go to hell,' he spat out, holding the pipe loosely in front of him, ready to defend in a moment's notice.

'After you, Evans,' Yama replied pleasantly, giving the two of them a mocking bow. 'Teach them a lesson.'

The sound of an engine cut through their showdown, and as the gang members in front of them turned to look at the guy cruising up on a moped, Matthew launched himself forward, lifting one of the idiots off his feet with the force of his uppercut while catching another on the temple with the pipe he still held. 'Hiro!' the guy on the moped yelped as Yama realized he was suddenly outnumbered with two of his men down for the count and the other facing a pissed off Evans.

'Tadashi!' the kid cries out in delight, racing forward over the downed gang members. 'Great timing.'

The last standing lackey makes a grab for the kid and yowls in pain as Matthew brings the pipe down on his wrist. His cry is cut off as a punch to his stomach right under the ribs forcibly pushes all the air out of his lungs, and he drops with a whimper, joining his two cohorts on the ground as the moped speeds away.

Yama growls at him, but without men to back him up he's lost much of his confidence in dealing with Matthew. 'Left behind yet again, Evans,' he says, and Matthew flinches again. It's not like Yama knows about his abandonment issues, but it still hurts.

'All that means is that I can deal with you in peace,' Matthew remarks, shuffling to the side.

Yama laughs again, stepping forward. And just as quickly steps back as the moped – _must've reached the dead end,_ Matthew thinks – comes by again, narrowly squeezing through the space between the two of them. As they pass, the kid snatches his bot out of the gang boss's hand with a loud cry of 'Thanks!'

Yama roars and thunders off after the moped, leaving Matthew free to head deeper into the alley. He'd seen a fire escape earlier; he'd climb that and escape using the rooftops, because he wasn't deaf. He, at least, could hear the sirens.

* * *

A week after that narrow escape, Matthew was walking down the street of one of the city's nicer neighborhoods. He didn't come to places like this very often, but he'd managed to liberate a wallet from some pompous asshole and had decided to buy himself a new coat. A quick rinse off in one of San Fransokyo's park ponds, and he was clean enough to pass as a respectable citizen of sorts. Besides, he really wanted a fresh pastry. And _coffee, God_ , how long had it been since he'd had a real cup of coffee?

Well, actually, he knew the answer to that question. He just didn't like to think about it.

 _Person. Car. Car. Bike._ His brain catalogued everything he passed in case he needed to make a run for it. _Lamppost. Bike. Motorcycle. Car. Human. Car. Tram. Moped. Ca-._ He stops, blinks, and backs up a step. _Moped,_ his brain informs him again, though he really doesn't need it to. He can see the moped very well, thank you very much. It takes a couple more minutes for him to remember why the moped is such an important thing.

Right. Yama, bot fight, kid, guy on moped. Why does this matter, again? It isn't like they actually met, let alone sat and talked and got to know one another. He should just leave, before someone accuses him of being crazy. Yes, leave.

Except then a bell rings behind him as a door opens, and suddenly he can smell heaven. His knees nearly give out on him as his stomach lets out a pathetic gurgle, because he can smell croissants and bagels and _oh god coffee,_ and before he can actually make a conscious decision he's striding into the café, the sign overhead proclaiming it to be the Lucky Cat.

It smells even better inside, without the San Fransokyo smog obscuring the wonderful goodness. No one's behind the counter, but as he ventures further in he hears someone – _male, young, probably not much older than me_ – yell out, 'Just a minute!'

It's less than that when the owner of the voice comes into view, and it might've been the guy on the moped last week, but Matthew isn't sure. He got a better look at the kid that night than the guy who sped past him twice. Except when the guy sees him, he startles, then smiles. 'I was hoping to see you again,' he says, and that just confirms it. He wipes his hands on the apron he's wearing before extending his hand for Matthew to shake. 'Thanks for helping out my little brother last week.'

Matthew takes his hand cautiously, like it might rear up and bite him if he isn't careful enough. 'It…wasn't anything special,' Matthew denies, although that isn't true. He's normally too occupied with keeping himself out of trouble to bother with pulling somebody else's ass out of the fire. The only other person he'd ever bothered to help hadn't _really fucking cared_ —

He cut that thought off before it could surface completely. 'Besides,' he continues as he drops the guys hand and stuffs his own into his coat pocket, 'you looked like you didn't need my help anyways.'

The guy laughs. 'I always need help keeping Hiro out of trouble. It's a full time job,' he joked.

Matthew looked around the café the guy was clearly in charge of, at least for a little while, and scoffed, 'Overachiever.'

'Oi,' he says, mock offended. 'I'll have you know I'm just helping out my aunt right now while she goes and checks on the suppliers. The shipment's late.' He then crosses his arms and looks Matthew up and down. 'You look like you could use a cup of coffee,' he declares, and Matthew instantly groans in agreement because _coffee_. He laughs again. 'I'll take that as a yes. On the house,' he adds as Matthew moves to pull out his 'liberated' wallet.

'What?' Matthew asks, because _what?_

The guy shrugs, heading back behind the counter to mess with the coffee machine. 'On the house,' he repeats. 'Aunt Cass won't mind. She'd probably be angrier with me for letting you pay after you saved Hiro. Do you want a latte or a cappuccino or just regular black coffee?'

'Latte,' Matthew answers on autopilot, because his brain is still wondering why the hell this guy is being so nice just because of a chance meeting.

'I'm Tadashi, by the way,' the guy tells him as he pours milk into a steaming pitcher. 'Tadashi Hamada. You met my little brother Hiro the other night.'

'I'm Matthew,' Matthew answers, still on autopilot, as he takes a seat at the counter so he can continue to talk to Tadashi. It's…nice, exchanging words that aren't thinly veiled threats. 'And yeah, I did. Nice to see you weren't arrested.'

Tadashi looks at him in surprise. 'How'd you know the police were there?'

'I heard the sirens,' Matthew replies, inhaling the delicious aroma the espresso machine was emitting. 'Climbed a fire escape to avoid them. Is that almost done?'

Tadashi look down at the cup in his hand as if just remembering he's holding it. 'Oh, yeah. Want a donut with it?'

Matthew gags. 'Eww, no. Wouldn't say no to a lemon tart though,' he says, eying said pastry, snug in the case behind the counter.

Tadashi laughs again, like it's the most natural thing in the world to be best friends with a stranger, and sets the latte down in front of him before pulling out the delectably sour pastry. 'Here you are then. What's wrong with donuts though? My aunt makes the best in the city.'

Matthew doesn't answer right away, because _coffee_ , but after he swallows he looks at Tadashi like the older male is crazy. 'Sweets are gross,' he declares, but before he can clarify further there's a cry of outrage, and both Matthew and Tadashi look over to its source.

The fluffy teen bot fighter is standing there in the doorway of what looks to be a garage, hair wild and unkempt like he hadn't slept in a week. 'How dare you!' he cries, pointing an accusing finger at Matthew, and he freezes up because _what the fuck did he do, shit, was he going to have to run for it again?_

Tadashi, however, just shakes his head in amusement as the teen marches towards them to plop into the seat next to Matthew. 'Sweets are the second greatest thing anyone has ever invented!' he declares once he's comfortable, glaring up at Matthew, who even sitting is still taller than he is. Now that he's closer though, he can see the playful glint in the kid's eyes, and he relaxes. 'To say such a thing in a house dedicated to producing the best is-is blasphemy!' The kid ends his tirade with, 'Tadashi, whoever this guy is, you aren't allowed to be friends with him anymore.'

Matthew quirks a smile at this kid, because he's cute and fluffy. 'Blasphemy is quite a big word,' he remarks, and the kid blinks at the non-sequitur. Matthew places a hand on his head and pushes downwards a bit, emphasizing their height difference before smirking and continuing. 'Bit too big for you, Short Stack.'

The kid _explodes_ at this, sputtering, 'I'm _not_ short!' and 'What do you know?!' and 'Tadashi don't _laugh!_ '

'Sorry, sorry!' Tadashi gets out, not sounding sorry at all as he continues laughing. 'Sorry Hiro, really. Good to see you out of the garage though.'

The kid – _Hiro, that was his name_ – crosses his arms and hmphs. 'Well, I was hungry.' A loud gurgle accompanies his statement, and Hiro glows red. This time, Matthew joins in Tadashi's laughter, pushing his latte away from the edge of the counter so he doesn't accidently knock it over. He's holding his sides, because it hurts a little, and when was the last time he laughed like this? He can't remember. He really can't remember. 'Shut up,' Hiro mutters, and it only makes them laugh harder. 'Tadashi,' Hiro whines, and Tadashi finally calms down enough to give Hiro a few donuts from the case.

Matthew makes a point to look at them and gag before shoving his tart into his mouth, reveling in the warmth it was giving off. Hiro shoved his mouth full of donut before sticking out his tongue, giving both older teens a clear view of the half-chewed mush in his mouth. Matthew isn't bothered by it; he's eaten worse. Tadashi however, is displeased. 'Hiro that's disgusting! How many times do I have to tell you to chew with your mouth closed!? And don't stick your tongue out at people, its rude! Really, Hiro, and you think you can call yourself an adult?!'

Matthew can't help it. He laughs again.

* * *

Matthew loses track of time chatting with Hiro and Tadashi, and before long someone sails in through the door with a cry of, 'I'm back!'

'Hey Aunt Cass,' the brothers chorus, and Matthew turns to see who came through the door because he's honestly curious about the woman who raised these boys into such _nice_ people, even if Hiro snuck out to bot fight every once and a while. She doesn't look anything special, just an average woman Matthew could have passed a million times on the street and never taken notice of.

'Oh?' Cass notices him sitting with her nephews at the counter. 'Who's your new friend, Tadashi?'

'Aunt Cass, this is Matthew,' Tadashi introduces. 'He was the one who helped Hiro out the night we got arrested.'

Cass's face lights up at that, and Matthew starts in surprise. Why is that such a big deal to these people? 'Oh, I was hoping to meet you!' she exclaims, rushing behind the counter to put a few things down before popping up in front of his face. He's too shocked by the sincerity in her declaration to flinch away from the sudden closeness. 'Thank you for saving my baby.'

' _Aunt Cass!_ ' Hiro whines, because he's fourteen and being called a baby grates on his nerves.

'It-it was nothing,' Matthew stutters out again, because it really wasn't. He wished they wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

Hiro scoffs. 'You took out three guys twice your size in, like, five seconds. If that was ' _nothing'_ to you I'd hate to see what could make you break a sweat.'

Cass gasps, worry instantly appearing in her expression. It's almost…almost like it _matters_ that he could have been hurt that night. It weirds him out and he shrinks in on himself slightly. She doesn't seem to notice, nor does Hiro, but Tadashi, he's quickly learning, is an expert at reading body language and effortlessly steers the conversation into less awkward waters. 'So how's your project coming along?' he asks Hiro, replacing Matthew's empty cup with a full one. Matthew glares at the elder Hamada, stubbornly sliding a five towards him and silently daring him to make him take it back.

He should have been watching out for Cass, apparently, because she pins him with her own glare. 'You put that money back in your pocket right now young man,' she threatened, bustling around the small space with the ease of long practice as Tadashi joins the two of them at the counter.

'But,' he tried to argue, and she cut him off.

'No buts,' she insisted. 'You pay for nothing in here. Understand?' She encompasses all three of them in her glance, and while Tadashi and Hiro nod in acceptance and understanding, Matthew sputters incoherently, because seriously, _what_? Why—no, _how_ , how were they so good, and kind, and accepting to someone they'd only just met? He didn't _understand._

'I've hit a block,' Hiro says to Tadashi, picking back up the abandoned conversation. 'I can't just use a controller, because there's so much going on there's no way I could keep up with everything!' Hiro slams his forehead to the counter, and it looks like it's taking all of Tadashi's willpower not to laugh again. 'It's not funny Tadashi.'

'What are you talking about?' Matthew asks, and he shouldn't really, because attachment is bad, getting attached is bad, but he can't help but be curious. He _likes_ the Hamada's.

'My project for the SFIT showcase,' is Hiro's muffled reply. 'I can't react fast enough with a controller to get it to do what I see it doing in my head.'

And Matthew can't build robots. He can't build something out of scraps of metal and codes and wires. He can't take on a gang boss with a robot he built himself that looked more like a paperweight than a tool of mass destruction. But because he can't do any of that stuff, he can take a step back from everyone else's perspectives and look at something in a new light. And right now, something Hiro says sticks to his brain like glitter. 'So why don't you cut out the middleman?' Tadashi and Hiro stare at him like he was speaking a different language for a minute there.

'What do you mean by that?' Tadashi asks after a few moments of silence.

Matthew fidgets in his chair as some sort of light turns on in Hiro's eyes. 'Well, you said you couldn't react fast enough with a controller to do…whatever it is you're trying to accomplish, right?' Hiro nods, and Matthew makes a vague gesture with his hand. 'So can't you make some sort of machine that…' he mimicked an explosion with his hands, not really sure what bombs had to do with what he was trying to say. 'I dunno, projects your thoughts?'

Hiro bolts upright. 'That's GENIUS!' he yelled, nearly falling off the stool in his haste to get back to the garage. 'ThanksMattyou'rethebest!' The door slammed shut behind him, muffling but not quite silencing the loud crash that came from the other side.

Matthew blinked at the sudden departure. 'Happy to help?'

Tadashi sighs and shakes his head in fond exasperation. 'I'd better go check and make sure he isn't bleeding to death out there,' he says, sliding off his own stool. 'I'll see you around?' And Matthew's only imagining the fact that Tadashi sounds a bit hopeful. Because who'd care about seeing him again?

And even though he knows he shouldn't, he nods and says, 'Yeah. I'll drop by next weekend.' And he means it.

* * *

True to his word, the next Saturday finds him entering the Lucky Cat Café once again. Also true to her word, Cass won't let him pay for anything he orders. Tadashi's no help either, because he's on his aunt's side. 'This is a conspiracy,' Matthew mutters, wondering if he can slip some money in the tip jar without them noticing. Almost as if reading his mind, Cass slides it further away from him, and he sighs in defeat as he shoves another lemon tart into his mouth, because Cass really does make the best. 'So how's Hiro doing?' he asks, because he's been sitting at the counter for almost an hour and there's been no sign of the littlest Hamada.

Tadashi spins on the stool next to him. 'You gave him a brainwave. He's hardly slept since then.'

Matthew frowns, because that's not healthy. 'That's not healthy.'

Cass sighed, leaning against the counter. 'Believe me, I know, but he won't listen to me and Tadashi,' here she sends a playful glare at her oldest nephew, 'is more likely to help him tinker with his project than send him to bed.'

Tadashi has the grace to look mildly ashamed. 'Sorry Aunt Cass. But it's going to be amazing when it's finished! How could I not help?'

'You could help me by sending him up to bed,' Cass countered. 'I'm sure he'd think better if he wasn't sleep-deprived.'

'Hey, what is he working on anyways?' Matthew wondered. 'I don't think you told me.'

Cass and Tadashi exchanged a Look that seemed to speak volumes. Before Matthew can even start to decode it though, Tadashi turns back to him and says, 'Do you want to see?'

'Yes,' Matthew blurts out without thinking. But he's tired of thinking things through. Because he's been thinking things through for the past year; only when he'd stopped thinking and just stared acting had anything good happened.

'Come on then.' Tadashi pulls him through the door before he can change his mind. And they both immediately have to duck as tiny black…things fly towards them with all the force of a great typhoon. 'Hiro!' Tadashi yelps as they're pelted with the things despite their quick reaction.

'Sorry, sorry!' Then there's utter silence in the garage as a low humming sound Matthew hadn't even realized was on suddenly disappeared.

In the moment of quiet that follows, Matthew picks up one of the things for closer inspection. It looks familiar for some reason… 'Hey, isn't this a smaller version of your bot?'

Hiro pops up like a daisy in front of him. 'Hi Matt. Yeah it is, it's my project for the showcase and it's based on Megabot's magnetic bearing servos and when it's finished I'll be able to do pretty much anything just using my _mind_ and it's gonna be awesome and they're waterproof and fire-resistant too so they can be used in rescues by firefighters and the Coast Guard and maybe the military but I'm not as sure about that because they're more likely to use it as a weapon and I definitely don't want that, really don't want that at all.'

Matthew stared at the teen bouncing on his heels in front of him. 'How much coffee have you had today?'

Hiro tilted his head. 'Coffee, what coffee, I don't drink coffee, but I've had lots and lots of gummy bears and that was lots of sugar so I think maybe I'm on a sugar high, I dunno I've never had one before.' And then he grinned, bright and wild with a tinge of madness around the edges.

Matthew exchanged a Look with Tadashi. 'And you wonder why I dislike sweets.'

'I'll never question you again,' Tadashi vowed as Hiro started to bounce off the walls. Literally. 'Ever.'

* * *

 _Mph. Warm. Why's it warm?_ Matthew blearily opened one eye. It didn't really help with figuring out why he was so warm, because his view was blocked by black fluff. There was black fluff in front of his face and a weight on his chest and he was on something soft and it was _warm_. Where the hell was he?

'Morning Briar Rose!' comes a _far_ too cheerful voice, and Matthew wrinkles his nose in distaste, shifting so he can throw both arms over his eyes. The left one doesn't respond for some reason, but that's okay because the right one does and it's enough to block out the sudden increase in light. 'C'mon you two, up and at 'em! You've definitely slept long enough, the moon has set and the sun has risen while you've been out!' A hand drags his arm away from his eyes, and Matthew is greeted by a grinning Tadashi.

The weight on his chest shifts, moans, then mumbles, 'Five more minutes Dashi.' Only it sounds more like, 'Fvmremndshi.' _Hiro_ , his waking brain catalogues, and Matthew finally remembers where he fell asleep at. And more importantly, what happened before he'd fallen asleep.

He'd spent the rest of the day in the Hamada's garage, watching Hiro and Tadashi trying to move Hiro's Microbots with their minds. For being an idea straight from a sci-fi comic book, their attempts were going rather well. Cass had offered to let him stay for dinner, which he tried to politely decline. _Try_ being the key word there. He quickly learned that Cass was a force of nature when she wanted something, and when he'd admitted that he hadn't had any real plans for dinner, she'd conned him into staying.

He didn't really regret that. She might make fantastic tarts and pastries, but her hot wings were gifts from the gods themselves.

And then he'd gone back to the garage with Tadashi, trying to get Hiro to sleep. He was coming down from the sugar high, but instead of crashing like his body wanted him too, he forced himself to stay awake. Matthew had finally gotten fed up. Wrapping his left arm around the kid, he dragged him towards the comfortable (he'd know, he'd hardly left it all afternoon) couch that was in the garage, plopping down on it and situating them both on it, so he lay against one of the armrests and Hiro was pinned to his chest.

' _What are you doing!?' Hiro yelped, his cheeks burning red. No amount of squirming would let him escape._

' _Napping,' came Matthew's nonchalant reply. Over by the computer Hiro had so recently been on, Tadashi started laughing as he registered what was happening._

' _Tadashi, help me!' Hiro looked like he was going to explode when Tadashi's only response was to laugh harder. 'Matt, le'go! I'll bite you!'_

 _Matthew waved off Hiro's threats. 'Doesn't change the fact that it's your naptime, Short Stack. Sleep.'_

' _I'm not tired!' Hiro protested. He then yawned. ''m-'m not, sle-epy,' he yawned again, eyes drooping._

' _Sure yer not,' Matthew yawned himself. 'An' I'mma big frien'ly moose.'_

' _Def'nitely no' frien'ly,' Hiro protested, before finally falling asleep. Matthew followed soon after._

Tadashi's Cheshire cat grin suddenly made sense. 'Not. One. Word,' Matthew hissed, hitting the older boy with as ferocious a glare as he could muster. 'Not. One.' Tadashi didn't say anything, so Matthew couldn't kill him. He just held up his phone, took a picture, and then ruffled his hair. 'Oi!' Matthew complained, batting away the hand.

Hiro let out a meowl as Matthew shifted to reach Tadashi, and both boys froze at the sound. 'Was that Hiro?' Tadashi whispered, breaking the frozen peace.

Matthew nodded. 'Wasn't me,' he confirmed. Then he prodded Hiro's shoulder, just to see if he'd make the sound again. He did, squirming away from Matthew's free hand and tightening his grip around the arm he was currently squeezing the life out of, which explained why none of Matthew's mental commands to it were being followed.

'Wait!' Tadashi hissed as he moved to do it again. He messed with the phone in his hand before holding it up again. 'I want this on video.'

'Ah,' Matthew murmured. 'Undeniable blackmail.'

Tadashi snickered. 'What else?' He then motioned for Matthew to continue. Matthew was all too happy to oblige.

Hiro let out another meowl before batting away Matthew's hand. 'Dashi,' he whined. ''m s'eepin'.' Tadashi made a valiant effort to reign in his snickers. Matthew made no such effort, and the movement of his chest only upset Hiro more. He pushed himself up to aim a sleep-heavy glare at Matthew. 'Dashi, stop.'

'Wrong human,' Matthew informed him, a grin growing across his face. Hiro frowned in confusion before his eyes flew open, his face turning red faster than a traffic light. He yelped and threw himself sideways, unbalancing himself and falling off the couch, scrambling backwards as Matthew threw back his head and cackled. Tadashi collapsed against the side of the couch in a fit of giggles as Hiro did a fantastic impression of a feeding fish.

'That was beautiful!' Tadashi gasped out, pulling himself up as Matthew swung his legs off the couch, still grinning like a madman.

'The video will never do the real thing justice,' Matthew told him.

'Video!?' Hiro squawked, scrambling to his feet. His eyes zeroed in on Tadashi's phone, still recording the events going on around it. 'TADASHI!'

'Run, Charming, run!' Matthew yelled, hauling Tadashi towards the café by the back of his shirt. Tadashi stumbled for a second as he was suddenly relocated from the garage to the door, but he straightened enough by himself once Hiro let out an embarrassed screech.

'Charming?' Tadashi questioned as they weaved through the tables and chairs and early morning patrons.

'If you're going to call me Sleeping Beauty, I'm calling you Prince Charming,' Matthew defended.

'I didn't call you Sleeping Beauty, I called you Briar Rose,' Tadashi argued as they ducked behind the sales counter. 'You might've been sleeping, but you definitely didn't have the beauty for the other title. Besides, Phillip is Sleeping Beauty's prince, not Charming.'

Matthew wasn't sure how to counter that, so Cass's appearance was a welcome distraction. 'What are you boys doing?'

'Aunt Cass!' Tadashi cried, springing up. 'Perfect timing, watch this!'

'Tadashi don't you dare!' Hiro cried, lunging over the counter. Matthew caught him as Tadashi restarted the video. Cass's laughter soon joined Tadashi's as the video reached Hiro's wake-up call. ' _Tadashi!_ ' Hiro wailed, his face still burning as he squirmed out of Matthew's hold.

'That was the best way to wake up ever,' Matthew decided, glancing out the window. Then he did a double-take as he registered the sun. 'Shit, was I here all night?!' he yelped.

'Yeah,' Tadashi shifted, looking a little guilty. 'Sorry, I should've woken you so you could've gone home, or at least called your parents, but Hiro looked so peaceful, and you'd actually gotten him to sleep. I didn't want to risk waking him. Sorry.'

Matthew shook his head. 'No, it's all right. I was just surprised, is all.'

'You should still call your folks,' Cass said, bustling around the kitchen and shooing them back into the dining area, where the patrons were getting back to their meals after the impromptu entertainment. 'They were probably worried when you didn't go home last night.'

Matthew waved off her concerns. 'No one at home will worry about me,' he told her. 'I don't suppose I could have breakfast before I leave?' For some reason, Cass froze, staring at him with an unidentifiable expression in her eyes. 'Cass?' He waved a hand in front of her face, trying to snap her out of it.

'Of course,' she said, shaking her head clear of whatever fog had enshrouded it. 'I'll make you the special.'

Matthew licked his lips. 'That sounds great,' he said, taking a seat at the counter. 'Lots of sausage, please.'

Cass laughed. 'There's more to breakfast than sausage,' she remarked.

'None that interest me.'

Tadashi plopped into the seat next to him. 'Can I have some bacon Aunt Cass?'

'Pancakes,' Hiro demands from the seat on his other side.

Cass laughed again. 'Yes sirs,' she saluted the three of them before retreating to the kitchen. 'And call me Aunt Cass, Matthew!' All was calm for twelve seconds. Then the front door slammed open.

'Tadashi, my man!' came a loud voice. 'How's the little genius doing?' Curious, Matthew turned around, oddly relaxed. Standing in the doorway was a boy maybe only a year or two older than Matthew himself, wearing a red shirt and a green beanie. He caught sight of Matthew, and he could see the moment the boy had to do a mental headcount of the people sitting at the bar. 'Who's this guy?'

'Fred!' Tadashi sounds appalled. 'Don't be rude.'

'Sorry, sorry!' Fred grins, not sounding sorry at all. He bounced over to them and snagged the open seat next to Hiro before directing that mega-watt grin to focus solely on Matthew. 'Name's Fred,' Fred introduced himself, holding out his hand to shake. 'Comic book genius and soon-to-be animorphmagus of a giant fire-breathing lizard.'

Matthew paused in the process of reaching for Fred's hand, blinked, then glanced at Tadashi. Tadashi just shrugged in a _just roll with it_ kind of gesture, so Matthew did just that. 'Nice to meet you. I'm Matthew, comic book enjoyer and bot-fighter rescuer extraordinaire.'

Fred's face _lit up_ at that. 'Wait, you're the guy who pulled Hiro out of Yama's bot fight?!'

Matthew turned back to Tadashi. 'Did you tell everyone what happened?'

Tadashi shrugged a little sheepishly. 'He wanted to know why we'd gotten arrested.'

'Which,' Fred inserted himself into the conversation, 'was really cool. How many guys do you know have gotten arrested? Mad respect.'

'Not really,' Matthew said, playing with his fork. 'Getting arrested means you were stupid enough to get caught.'

'Hey!' both Hamada's objected. Matthew grinned.

'Hey, it's true.' Matthew's grin widened. 'And you two are supposed to be geniuses.'

Hiro crossed his arms and pouted. 'Genius is different from street-smarts. Clearly, you have the latter.'

'Quit trying to talk big, Short Stack.'

'Stop calling me Short Stack!' Hiro launched himself at Matthew, hands latching onto his shoulders and knocking him off the stool.

'Hiro!' Tadashi yelped, struggling to keep his own balance as they crashed into him.

Matthew just flipped himself over so when he landed on the floor, Hiro was crushed beneath him. 'Ack! What the hell, Matt!? Get off!' Matthew just shifted so Hiro was pressed completely to the ground. ' _Tadashi_ , get your stupid friend off me!' Tadashi—and Fred, for that matter—was too busy laughing to help.

When Tadashi finally got most of his laughter out of his system, he nudged Matthew with his foot. 'Get off, Matthew. I'd like my little brother alive.'

'Took you long enough,' Hiro huffed after Matthew rolled off of him, pulling himself back onto his stool and punching Fred in the shoulder. 'How come you didn't help?'

Fred smiled, like he was happy Hiro had asked. 'Because you brought your fate upon yourself.'

If Matthew was surprised by the strangely out of place wisdom and insight of the scruffy college student, Tadashi and Hiro were absolutely shocked. 'Fred that actually sounded kinda… _wise_.'

'I can be wise!' Fred insisted.

Tadashi nodded slowly like he understood as Fred stared at him. Then, when Fred turned to mess with Hiro, Tadashi caught Matthew's eye and quickly shook his head. Matthew had to fake a cough to cover up the bubbling laughter threatening to escape.

* * *

Fred insisted on pizza for lunch, and since the Hamada brothers were too busy doing science stuff that seemed more like fiction, Matthew was stuck on pick-up duty with him. Although why Fred thought they needed five pizzas between the four of them remained a mystery. Until he re-entered the garage and froze at the amount of people it now held, all of them messing with Hiro's project and looking like they knew what they were doing, instead of the perpetually confused faces he and Fred had on whenever they got within five feet of the bits of metal. 'My God, they're multiplying,' he blurted out, fighting his instinct to toss what he was holding into the air and flee. Because that would just be a waste of pizza.

And he liked Tadashi. And Hiro. And he didn't want to explain his freak out when he inevitably came back.

He couldn't stop from tensing up though. And Tadashi, sensing his discomfort, slung an arm around his shoulders and steered him further inside. In the privacy of his head, he upgraded Tadashi from 'Scarily Observant' to 'Fuckin Psychic'.

'We're not multiplying,' Tadashi laughed, pushing Matthew down onto the couch. Fred plopped down beside him and they both busied themselves with spreading out the pizza on the coffee table. The delicious aroma was enough to break Hiro out of his laser focus, and he joined the rest of the college age kids currently gathering around the food source like it was a thing to be worshipped.

'So who are you?' one of them asks, and he turns to her in vague surprise, because she's almost shorter than Hiro and somehow already has a mouth full of pizza—no, wait, that's bubblegum.

'GoGo!' Tadashi sputters, at the same time the other girl, who's standing next to the small Asian and is comically taller than her, says,

'GoGo, don't be rude.' She then turns to Matthew and smiles at him, and Matthew is almost blinded by bright. She's wearing yellow and pink and _bright_ , and it's been a long time since he's seen anyone wear something bright like that. 'Sorry about GoGo, that's just how she is. I'm Honey Lemon,' she introduces herself. 'This is GoGo,' and the short Asian girl with purple highlight in her dark hair—hey, that was kind of cool. His hair was too bright to pull off that dark purple, but maybe a red? An instant later he scrapped the idea—nodded. 'And he's Wasabi.' A dark-skinned boy with dreadlocks waves at him, and Matthew returns the gesture, too stunned to do anything else.

'Why are you named after food?' Shit, he hadn't meant to say that out loud. Wasabi sighed, Honey Lemon giggled and GoGo, for some reason, punched Fred's shoulder.

'It's a nickname,' Wasabi groaned, burying his face in his hands. 'One time. One time, and they never let you forget it.'

Fred looks rather proud of himself. 'I came up with the nicknames. Speaking of, you need one. Better to do it now so they don't get used to calling you by your real name.'

'Um.'

Matthew wasn't entirely sure how to answer that. So he didn't. Instead, he turned to Tadashi for explanations.

'These are my friends from SFIT,' he explained. 'They came over to see how Hiro's project was coming along.'

And Matthew would probably have wrote it off as just a coincidence, if Fred hadn't known they were gonna need extra pizza.

Meh. Whatever. More importantly, 'If he's Wasabi, and she's GoGo, and she's Honey Lemon,' he began, drawing everyone's attention. 'Why are you two Fred and Tadashi?'

Fred crossed his arm with a huff. 'Well, because I can't give myself a nickname, and I can't think of a good one for Tadashi.'

'I don't have a nickname,' Hiro said.

'Of course you do Short Stack, you're Short Stack,' Matthew shot back flippantly.

Hiro's screech of, 'Quit calling me Short Stack!' was lost beneath cries of anger and dismay as he knocked over the table when he lunged for Matthew's throat, spilling the pizza all over the floor.

Matthew laughed, because Fred's horrified expression was the best thing _ever_.

* * *

'Salamander,' Matthew says suddenly, about an hour later. His outburst catches the attention of everyone but Hiro and Wasabi, who are doing some ultra-precise thing over by the computers. Everyone else is sprawled out in various states of sleep on the couch and many beanbags.

GoGo blew a bubble, then popped it. 'Come again?'

Matthew crossed his arms and leaned farther back onto the couch. 'Well, since no one else gave Fred a nickname, I'm giving him one.'

'Why Salamander?' Honey Lemon asks, and it's slightly wary but mostly curious.

'Because he wants to be a giant fire-breathing lizard,' Matthew deadpans. 'And he specifically said lizard, so it doesn't have wings, so it's not a dragon. So, Salamander.'

Over by the computers, Hiro, who apparently _was_ listening, says, 'That is a level of thought and rationale that I believed you weren't capable of.'

Matthew sighed. 'What did I tell you about using words bigger than you were, Short Stack?' Hiro's screech is the only warning Matthew has before thin arms are wrapped around his neck, theoretically trying to strangle him. He ignores Hiro's attempt, mostly because he knows that doing so will piss Hiro off more than any other reaction.

The rest of them are laughing, except for GoGo, who's smirking as if laughter isn't a word in her vocabulary. Matthew grinned, the most content he'd been in four years, before bouncing to his feet. Hiro yelped, his grip tightening as he was lifted off the ground. 'Right, well, I should be going.'

'Aww, already?' Fred—and there really is no other word for it—pouts. 'But I still haven't come up with a nickname for you yet.'

'Well, you can think on it, and tell me later.' Except maybe not, because attachment is _bad_ , and getting in any deeper would not be a smart thing to do. Hiro finally let go. 'So I'll see you guys around,' Matthew says, giving the halfway comatose college kids a jaunty salute before heading for the door. A hand catches his sleeve before he's taken more than a step, and he looks down to see Hiro practically clinging to him.

'Are you gonna come to the showcase?' he gets out after a few moments of awkward fidgeting.

Matthew has no clue what he's talking about. 'What showcase?'

Tadashi falls off the couch while everyone else stares at him like he's an idiot. 'The SFIT showcase!' Tadashi yelps, springing to his feet and seizing Matthew's shoulders. 'The whole reason Hiro made these Microbots in the first place! The showcase that'll get him into SFIT if they're good enough!'

'And they are good enough,' Wasabi interjects.

'Totally insane,' Fred agrees.

'Oh. Okay.' Matthew doesn't really know what else to say.

Hiro rolls his eyes. 'Whatever. Are you coming or not?'

Matthew rubs the back of his head with the hand Hiro doesn't have a death-grip on, dislodging Tadashi. 'Well…' He shouldn't. Attachment was bad, attachment meant hurt, attachment was a _really stupid thing for him to do_ , but… 'Sure, when is it?'

No one had ever called Matthew smart before.

* * *

It's close to midnight when the group finally files out of their garage. 'C'mon Short Stack, how about you sleep in a real bed tonight?'

'Not you too Tadashi!' Hiro complains, but it lacks his usual venom. He's tired and it shows. Tadashi's amused.

'Hey, Hiro?' he asks, a few minutes later when they've both burrowed under their covers. 'What was all that about earlier?'

Hiro doesn't ask him to clarify, because there's only one thing that happened earlier that was considered strange for him to do. Matthew hadn't caught it, and neither had the rest of Tadashi's friends, because none of them knew his baby brother the way he did. He heard Hiro shift around a bit before his brother finally said, 'I had a bad feeling.'

'That's it?' Tadashi asks, surprised, because Hiro is normally much more rational than that, needing facts and hard evidence to support his theories. When he isn't sneaking out to bot fights, anyway.

He can practically feel Hiro scowling at him. 'Yes, that's it,' he snapped. 'I just…it felt like, if he walked out the door without promising to come back, we'd never see him again.'

'…Oh,' Tadashi finally says, because what else was he supposed to say to that? Well, one thing, he guessed. But he didn't want to say it. So he thought it instead.

 _Me too._


End file.
